Weekly Visit
by Okami No Yume
Summary: Zuko visits Azula in the asylum. Five years post series. Written for the Avatar Mini Bang on LiveJournal.


**Title:** Weekly Visit

**Author:** Okami No Yume

**Rating: **T

**Characters:** Zuko/Azula

**Prompt used:** #13 In The Asylum

**Warnings/Pairings: **Canon pairings, mentioned in passing. This is not, I repeat, NOT Zucest in any way, shape or form. Just want to clear up any confusion.

**Summary:** Zuko visits Azula in the asylum. Five years post series.

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** The characters belong to their respective owners. I hold no claim over them.

**Additional Notes: **Written for the Avatar mini bang challenge on LJ. Reviews are, of course, always greatly appreciated. This is the first time I've ever written Azula. Tell me what you think.

* * *

Five years had passed since the war had ended. Five years since the world had begun to heal from the ravages of a century long war, and five years since a young ruler had ascended the throne to the Fire Nation and worked tirelessly towards maintaining the new and fragile peace.

And also, five years since Azula, the fallen princess and once promising firebending prodigy, had been locked away into a mental institution to be forgotten, as if she were some unwanted remnant of Ozai's tyranny.

And she had been forgotten. That is, except, by one.

"Hello, brother," she drawled as she leaned against the bars of her prison idly, studying him. "How generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule to visit me."

"Hello, Azula," he answered softly. He had changed considerably in the years since the war's end. Gone was the confused, awkward, angry teenaged Prince who had been pushed aside in favor of his sister. Instead, what now stood before her was a man that possessed the solemn gravitas of a monarch.

It had become a ritual. Zuko set aside every Friday to visit Azula in the institution. She was kept towards the back, away from the other inhabitants in a private cell, in permanent isolation on the orders of her brother.

Azula, not for the first time, felt a twinge of bitter amusement at the irony of it all. She had once dreamed of commanding the Fire Nation under an iron fist like her father once had. She had certainly never imagined _this_, being at the mercy of her older _weaker_, brother.

"You look well." she said amiably, examining her nails in an idle manner. They looked chipped and broken. She remembered a time when that would have been unacceptable, and she never would have dreamed of letting them fall into such a deplorable state. She dearly wished she could have had a nail file, but alas, such things were forbidden in the asylum. Pity.

Zuko didn't say anything at first, but looking at his sister, he couldn't say the same about her-she looked thin, her hair looked unwashed, and what she wore was nothing more than rags. Those who ran the asylum treated her like some kind of feral animal, and with good reason; Azula made a rat-viper look trustworthy by comparison. Even with her bending suppressed by powerful drugs, she was still a threat.

Azula smirked at his silence, undeterred. "So...Zuzu, tell me. How have things been? I'm starving for news. How's Mai doing? It's been so long since I've seen her."

Zuko stiffened at the mention of her name. His answer was terse. "Things are going well. And she's fine."

She frowned at him. "Come now Zuzu, no need to be like that. I want details. Like the newest fashions, or the politics of your council or maybe some really juicy piece of court gossip. Or the fact that I'm going to be an aunt. Is it true?"

Knowing that he could hide nothing from her, Zuko answered. "Yes. Mai is with child."

Azula smirked at him. "Be sure to send her my congratulations."

"I will," was his curt reply.

"Thank you,"Azula said with simpering sweetness. "Also, tell her I'm positively_ dying _to see her. It's been far too long."

Zuko felt tension ball within him at the thought of Azula being anywhere near his wife and unborn child. "I'll let her know."

"Such a good brother," said Azula with mocking cheerfulness.

After that, they said nothing for awhile. Azula finally broke the silence.

"You know, it's funny. Here I am, locked away to rot in an asylum, and here you stand, Fire Lord. My brother, the black koala-sheep of our family. Those who once scorned you now love you and embrace you as their leader, and here I exist, living at your mercy."

At that, Zuko managed a small, rueful smile. "As Uncle is fond of saying; destiny is a funny thing."

"Indeed it is. I'll bet it gives you satisfaction, seeing me reduced to this." she sneered. "Hidden away like some shameful secret, caged like a filthy animal, stripped of all honor."

Zuko flinched inwardly at that."No, it doesn't."

The truth was, it didn't give him any pleasure to see his sister like this, contrary to what others may have thought. Instead, he felt a mixture of pity and sorrow stir within him as he wondered what Azula could have been, might have been, if she hadn't been so twisted and warped by their father and his barbaric ideals. He also wondered what could have been if they'd had a normal, loving sibling relationship instead of being mercilessly pitted against one another in a cutthroat game of thrones.

There had been a time, once, where Zuko would have killed to be in his sister's position. She had the love and approval of their father while he had been cast aside and dismissed as inferior and weak. His premature birth coupled with the illnesses that plagued him as a child had rendered him a grave disappointment in the eyes of their father. As far as Ozai had been concerned, Azula had been the only true legitimate heir. Azula had always been painfully perfect, and when he realized her talent and potential, Ozai had taken her under his wing as his most loyal disciple.

However, in the aftermath of the Agni Kai with Azula's brief but violent reign as Fire Lord, Zuko saw just what being Ozai's acolyte had done to her as she lay chained before them, as she shrieked and sobbed like a wounded beast. The sight would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his days.

Azula snorted in disgust. "Is that pity I see in your eyes, brother?" Oh, this was too rich. Her brother had the _nerve_ to_ feel sorry_ for her?

Zuko looked away then, unable to answer.

Azula managed a humorless chuckle. "I see. Is that why I'm still alive, and why I wasn't tried and executed along with father? You kept me alive out of pity?"

"I spared you because you're family," he said softly. "And I wanted to see if you could be helped. Redeemed." However, after many attempts and treatments, Azula had remained as unstable as ever. Zuko had been forced to come to terms with the fact that his sister was, and always would be, an unrepentant sociopath. Today was actually one of her better days.

"Family? You always were too sentimental for your own good," her tone was filled with disdain. "Were I in your position, I would have you publicly executed, and with great pleasure, might I add. "

"I guess that's the difference between you and I."

"It's hard to believe that someone as weak as you is Fire Lord. Father was right when he said that mother raised you to be too soft. Don't you know that the only way to rule is through fear?"

At that, Zuko became incensed. "That's your belief, _not _mine."

"If you say so," said Azula in a sing-song voice, pleased that she'd managed to hit a nerve. "But really Zuzu dear, that's the only way to keep the people in line. Make them believe that you'll torture or execute them on a whim, and see how quickly they fall into line. You know, if you let me out of here, I'd be more than happy to serve at your side as your royal adviser."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass," he retorted sarcastically.

"What a shame. Because I truly do think that with the right guidance, you could be a much better ruler. After all, a very famous Fire Nation writer once said it's better to be feared than loved."

Zuko said nothing to that, since he knew very well Azula's idea of guidance would be an assassin's dagger in the night, resulting in a very violent and bloody end to his reign. Zuko decided he'd had enough of this conversation. He wanted nothing more than to go home to Mai.

"It's time for me to go. The hour grows late."

"Oh, it does? We were having such a lovely talk. My, my, how the time flies. Well, I won't keep you. Give my best to Mai."

Saying nothing, he simply nodded. He would be back next week, like always. Since he was her only visitor, he felt that it was his duty, and his responsibility. After all, there was no one else left to care for her or what became of her.

As Zuko turned to leave her and the dark, dreary asylum, he swore to himself that if he and Mai had a daughter, he made a silent vow to make sure she would _never_ turn into Azula.

**FIN**


End file.
